A three-vehicle crash in northwest Iowa’s Cherokee County, Thursday morning, resulted in a death and two injuries. The Iowa State Patrol reports a Cherokee County Secondary Roads Department grader was traveling westbound on county road C-63 at around 10:18-a.m., dressing the road shoulder gravel, when a 2018 GMC SUVn driven by 76-year-old Denise Betts, of Alta, rear-ended the grader.

A 2013 Kawasaki motorcycle operated by 74-year-old Everett Paeper, of Aurelia, rear-ended the SUV. A passenger in the SUV, 97-year-old Naomi Benna, of Storm Lake, died from her injuries, at the Cherokee Regional Medical Center. Betts and Paeper were injured in the crash, and transported to the same hospital. The Patrol says Paeper was wearing a helmet. Benna and Betts were wearing their seat belts.

The driver of the grader, 46-year-old Kelly Ebel, of Cherokee, was not injured. The accident remains under investigation.

(Radio Iowa) – A Republican state senator from Sioux City who’s running for the U-S Senate says if there’s a cyberattack against the nation’s energy supply, the U-S Department of Justice and F-B-I should take over immediately. Jim Carlin says letting a private company negotiate and pay a ransom puts the company’s profits ahead of national security. Carlin’s comments come after the C-E-O of an east coast pipeline revealed the company paid hackers five MILLION dollars after a ransomware attack shut the pipeline down.

Carlin campaigned in Carroll, Crawford, Shelby, Cass and Audubon Counties earlier this week.

(Radio Iowa) – Republican Congressman Randy Feenstra says a tax change President Biden has proposed is effectively the death tax with a new coat of paint. The proposal would treat the transfer of inherited property like a sale, so capital gains taxes would be collected.  “This dramatically affects our farming community,” he says. Feenstra, who represents Iowa’s fourth congressional district, says Biden’s proposed million dollar exemption for individuals and two million dollar exemption for couples who inherit property isn’t enough.

“When you start selling land or you start selling a small business, that’s not very much,” Feenstra says, “especially when you’re into agriculture and all the equipment and all this other stuff that you’re trying to pass on to the next generation.” Feenstra says with inflation rising, Biden’s proposed budget – and the proposed taxes to finance it – should be scaled back.

“Each year we take in about $3.25 trillion of revenue,” Feenstra says, “so when you create a budget of $6 trillion, that should raise everybody’s eyebrows.” Feenstra says if Biden’s budget is adopted, it will devalue the dollar and make consumer goods more expensive.

(DES MOINES, Iowa) – Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) officials have used the state’s safe haven procedure for the 48th time since the law went into effect. A baby boy, born April 23, was released to the custody of DHS. Specific details are withheld in order to protect the identity of the parents and the children. Through Iowa’s Safe Haven law, parents, or their authorized representative, can leave infants age 30 days or younger at a hospital or health care facility without fear of prosecution for abandonment.

“The purpose of this law is to protect the lives of newborns who are in danger of abandonment,” said Janee Harvey, DHS Division Administrator of Adult, Children and Family Services. “We want to ensure Iowans know that Safe Haven is an available option if they cannot care for their newborn safely. We recognize that these decisions are often made in the midst of crisis and the protocols are built accordingly.” Safe Haven prioritizes the health and physical safety of the infant(s), as well as the anonymity of the parent or authorized individual who relinquishes custody of the child.

The Safe Haven law was approved in the wake of a high-profile case in 2001 involving a teen mother in eastern Iowa who killed her home-delivered newborn. Infants who are safe haven babies are placed with currently-approved foster or adoptive families. All states have Safe Haven laws, although provisions differ.

If you are interested in becoming a foster or adoptive parent, please visit
www.iowafosterandadoption.org.

For more information on the Safe Haven procedure: http://dhs.iowa.gov/safe-haven.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s governor is asking for a congressional investigation after unaccompanied migrant children were flown into Iowa without her office being notified. Governor Kim Reynolds and Tennessee’s governor are asking the Senate Judiciary Committee to hold a public hearing about the movement of migrant children into states.

Reynolds says a plane carrying unaccompanied minor children landed overnight at the Des Moines Airport in late April, but her office was not notified and it was 20 days before federal officials confirmed 19 children from Long Beach, California were flown to Des Moines and then transported on buses to unite with relatives or local sponsors.

A similar scenario unfolded in Knoxville, Tennessee last month. Reynolds and Tennessee’s governor say their experience sows seeds of mistrust and intentionally subverts the will of people for a secure border.  Iowa Democratic Party chairman Ross Wilburn says Governor Reynolds is using a fake crisis to divide and distract Iowans from her own record. Third District Democrat Representative Cindy Axne echoed the Governor’s statement, Thursday.

Axne issued the following statement:

“The lack of transparency and accountability from our federal immigration officials regarding the April 22 flight from Long Beach to Des Moines is totally unacceptable. As a mom, I was disturbed to see reports of a flight transporting unaccompanied children, and more than a month ago I sought clarification from HHS and ICE – but received no confirmation of the flight like the one provided to Senator Grassley a few weeks ago. 

As this new administration tries to rebuild trust and fix our broken immigration system, denying the existence of a taxpayer-funded flight carrying migrant children into our community will only undermine the integrity of that mission, and will unfortunately provide fodder to those who would use this episode only to feed the disinformation and conspiracies related to our current immigration policies. 

I join Governor Reynolds in demanding further investigation and disclosure from HHS to determine why this flight was kept secret and why its existence was denied to both the public and to the public officials seeking to learn the whole truth.”

Atlantic Municipal Utilities is asking customers to conserve energy today during this heat wave to help reduce demand on the power grid. This request comes from the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), which operates the energy market and controls electrical reliability for our region.

MISO issued a Level 2 Energy Emergency from 2-p.m. through 6:00 p.m. today. Please turn up your thermostat, delay the use of large appliances and shut off all unnecessary lights and equipment. Thank you for your cooperation!

(Radio Iowa) – The three Iowa Republicans serving in the U-S House are criticizing the E-P-A’s move to repeal Trump-era water quality rules and write new ones. Congresswoman Ashley Hinson of Marion says the rules that became final during the last year of Trump’s presidency protect farmers from government overreach. “The Navigable Water Protection rules provided some certainty to our farmers and producers here in Iowa and across the US,” Hinson says. “I firmly believe that bureaucrats who’ve never set foot in Iowa should not be able to regulate our ditches and ponds on our farms.”

President Biden’s E-P-A administrator has said the agency intends to write new rules that protect water quality, but don’t overly burden small farmers. Hinson and Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Ottumwa are co-sponsoring a House Resolution that would prevent the E-P-A from adopting Obama-era water quality rules. “The Waters of the US rule that was so harmful to Iowa’s farmers,” Hinson says.

Congressman Randy Feenstra of Hull is also a co-sponsor of that resolution Feenstra says a return to the Obama Administration’s water quality rules would result in unnecessary and costly government regulations for Iowa farmers. Critics of the Trump Administration’s water quality rule say it removed a quarter of U-S waterways and wetlands from federal oversight and endangered public drinking water supplies.

The Glenwood Police Department reports two arrests. On Wednesday, 38-year-old Jeremiah King, of Glenwood,was arrested on a Mills County warrant for Harassment in the 1st Degree. He was also charged with Possession of Controlled Substances and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. His total cash or surety bond was set at $3,300.

And, on Tuesday, 41-year-old Michael Rupe, of Glenwood, was arrested for OWI/1st offense. His cash or surety bond was set at $1,000.

DES MOINES – Today (Thursday), Rep. Cindy Axne (IA-03) announced that she secured $21,901,000 in direct funding for Iowa infrastructure improvements within the House’s surface transportation authorization legislation that advanced to the House floor earlier today. The funding secured by Axne will support projects that range from a bridge replacement in Red Oak, a Traffic Incident Management Center at Camp Dodge, and bus facility improvements for transit agencies which cover all sixteen counties of Iowa’s Third District.

“Repairing our bridges and roads, improving commuter routes, and upgrading our mass transit systems are all critical to ensuring Iowa has the infrastructure it needs to grow and thrive for decades to come,” said Rep. Axne. “This year, I had the chance to bring Iowa’s tax dollars directly back to our communities to fund the projects we need – and I’m proud to have successfully secured over 21 million dollars in improvements that will impact all 16 counties of Iowa’s Third District.”

Her office says Rep. Axne successfully pushed to include six projects for Iowa’s Third Congressional District in the legislation that authorizes spending on highway and transit projects, including:

•         $7,000,000 for upgrades to the Southeast Connector connecting SE 30th Street to US Route 65 near Des Moines and Pleasant Hill

•         $5,000,000 for bus and bus facility upgrades at the Southwest Transit Agency, Western Iowa Transit, Heart of Iowa Regional Transit Agency, Southwest Iowa Trolley, and the Des Moines Regional Transit Authority

•         $4,880,000 for Phase 1 of construction on a Traffic Incident Management Center at Camp Dodge in Johnston

•         $2,321,000 for construction of a new Regional Transit Facility for the Heart of Iowa Regional Transit Agency in Waukee

•         $2,000,000 for improvements to the Mills Civic Parkway at S. 91st Street and S. Grand Parkway in West Des Moines

•         $700,000 for the replacement of the Red Oak Creek Bridge in Red Oak

Earlier this year, Rep. Axne requested funding for transportation projects from throughout the Third District and formally submitted requests for these six and other projects to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I). The requested projects are posted publicly on her website. The funding secured by Axne is included in the Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation (INVEST) in America Act, which will cover the surface transportation portion of the infrastructure negotiations occurring between both chambers of Congress and the White House.

The INVEST in America Act was advanced by the T&I committee earlier today, and is expected to receive a vote before the full U.S. House later this month. The U.S. Senate advanced their version of surface transportation legislation last month, and the two bills will form the foundation for the infrastructure agreement reached by both parties in Washington. “While there is a long way to go before this funding is officially signed into law, I believe this week represents a big step forward by seeing these projects written directly into the legislation that will form the basis of Congress’ infrastructure agreement this year,” said Axne. “There are still plenty of details to work out – and other portions of an infrastructure deal like broadband and child care to settle – but this funding shows that our agenda for infrastructure will directly and undeniably help Iowa and improve the lives of Iowans across our state.”

All of Rep. Axne’s requested projects were listed on the Iowa Department of Transportation’s state, tribal, or territorial transportation improvement program (STIP) list – a designation highly recommended by the T&I Committee to ensure the projects were supported at the local level – and were submitted to the committee with letters of support by local and state sponsors.

More information on those requests and the criteria for submissions of these projects can be found here.

(DES MOINES) – The Iowa Finance Authority (IFA), Tuesday, marked national homeownership month by recognizing Iowa’s strong housing market, record numbers of homebuyers using IFA’s mortgage programs and the launch of a new first-time Iowa homebuyer toolkit that will educate homebuyers on the homebuying process amid a highly-competitive market. IFA Executive Director Debi Durham says “The competitive housing market means that homebuyers need to be informed of the process and ready to act quickly. To fulfill this need, IFA has launched a new webpage and first-time homebuyer toolkit that will provide routine tips delivered via email about purchasing a home in Iowa and the resources available to buyers.”

The new first-time Iowa homebuyer resource will provide homebuyers who sign-up to receive information with routine tips such as a new Iowa homebuyer guide, home purchase checklist, information about credit scores in relation to purchasing a home and much more. The new resource is available at iowafinance.com/welcomehome. According to Iowa Association of REALTORS® CEO Gavin Blair, “Iowa’s housing market is seeing near record levels in both terms of high numbers of sales and prices as well as low average number of days on the market and available inventory. “This combination of trends makes for an extremely fast-paced market. The new tool offered by IFA to prepare homebuyers is very well-timed and will be useful for a wide-range of buyers.”

IFA offers mortgage and down payment and closing costs assistance programs through a network of more than 400 lenders throughout the state. These partnerships allow eligible Iowans both the convenience of working with their local lender and access to down payment and closing costs assistance of up to $5,000, available exclusively through IFA Participating Lenders. Nearly 3,000 Iowans realized their dream of homeownership through IFA’s homeownership programs last fiscal year, the most in any single year in the program’s 43-year history. Nearly 90% of these homebuyers also used an IFA down payment and closing costs assistance program to help with their home purchase.

Iowa households earning $139,580 or below and purchasing a home at $381,000 or below may be eligible for homeownership assistance through an IFA program.